Co‐authorship patterns in East Asia in the light of regional scientific collaboration

Abstract

Purpose

Various forms of regional cooperation in East Asia have greatly increased in the past two decades. Scientific collaboration is beneficial for both scientifically lagging countries (SLCs) and scientifically advanced countries (SACs) with respect to their S&T capacity and thus economic prosperity. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive description of intra‐regional scientific collaboration in East Asia from 1985 to 2008 with the 10+3 (ASEAN ten plus China, Japan and South Korea) framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses co‐authored articles embodied by Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI‐Expanded) to indicate cross‐border scientific collaboration.

Findings

Data show that heterogeneity in the publication output across East Asian countries is decreasing. Intra‐ASEAN, intra‐ Northeast Asia, as well as ASEAN and Northeast Asia scientific collaboration greatly improved since 1997.

Originality/value

This paper discusses factors influencing international scientific collaboration and focuses on explaining the impact of regional integration. Finally, it offers further suggestions on East Asian integration from the perspective of scientific collaboration.

Citation

Li, J., Xiong, H., Zhang, S. and Jull Sorensen, O. (2012), "Co‐authorship patterns in East Asia in the light of regional scientific collaboration", Journal of Science and Technology Policy in China, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 145-163. https://doi.org/10.1108/17585521211256991